A moms guide to efficiently organizing the home

Katherine - posted on 03/18/2012
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Home organization done right can often be extremely complicated. Between taking care of smaller everyday tasks and handling the larger weekend ‘projects,’ making headway in getting your home in order can be very difficult. On any given day you need to send the kids off to school, handle all the day’s shopping, take the dog to the groomer, sweep the floors and counters, let the repair guy in, cook dinner and any number of other regular tasks on your list.

So between all this stuff; how is it even possible to get some major organizational shifts happening in the various rooms of your house? Let’s say you’ve been meaning to convert your basement into an exercise room instead of having its sole function be to house old boxes and junk. Between hauling the old stuff out to the dump and getting the new stuff in and set up; we’re talking at least a whole day’s work.

The key to organizing your home is, in fact, organizing your organization. This might sound like some sort of Zen haiku, however, it is in fact sound advice. Create an organizational strategy; a method to your home organization that makes sense and is practical. The following is mom’s strategic guide to getting her home in order while maximizing her time and efficiency.

1. Post it Notes: The post it note isn’t something only for college students – it can also be an invaluable tool for a mom’s organizational campaign. Get a few packs of post-its and set to work: label everything in your home that is in need of change.

Start with the junk items; those things around the house that simply don’t get used anymore. This could be old exercise equipment, ripped up couches, boxes of toys, basketball hoops or any other useless clutter. You’ll be surprised at how much junk is actually in your home.

2. Sort Big from Small: After you are finished marking all the junk in your home with post-its, sort the items by what you can physically carry and those items that are simply too large to move on your own. For those smaller items, place them in boxes by categorization; usually ‘type’ of item is the best way to do it.

So that means old toys in one box, old clothes in another, pet items in another, sports equipment in another, and so on. After you’re done boxing everything, sort the boxes by what you mean to do with them. Some boxes might go straight into trunk of your car because they are heading to Salvation Army or the recycling center.

3. Schedule Your Appointments: The next step is to get your help on the way. What, did you think you were going to do everything on your own? The most efficient way to organizational success is to accept that you’re going to need some help, especially to get rid of those larger items in your home. Decide which big items with post-its really are ready to get hauled off and then give your local junk hauling company a call to schedule an appointment. Most good hauling companies will give you a free on site estimate on how much it will cost to get rid of all your junk.

The second type of appointment you need to make are deliveries. Now that you’ve cleared out the basement, get online and decide the different types of exercise equipment you’d like down there. When you’ve made your decision, set up an appointment to have the equipment delivered and installed – no hassles

4. Schedule Your Own Tasks: The final step to this organizational overhaul is to schedule some time for yourself (or anyone else that might be up for helping) to make a variety of trips. These trips include getting rid of those items loaded in your car and stocking up on the new items, decorations you’ll need for your cleared out rooms. This final step will be a full days’ work - so make sure you free up a Saturday or Sunday .

Now that you’ve seen how much you can get done with a little organization, you’ll be encouraged to move onto the next room, project or task. Before you know it, your home will be in a completely different state of order!